The Fallen Empire
by DTLe
Summary: ONE-SHOT "Oh Lord, I wish I could have a second chance to make things right. Another chance to make Italy happy, to protect her and care for her the way I should have."


Disclaimer: Axis Powers Hetalia is owned by Himaruya.

This is my first Axis Powers Hetalia fanfic. HRE-centric, with some mention of HRE/Chibitalia

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(HRE's POV)

The war has been going on for so long, but my empire is growing. I've grown older as well; I've managed to reach 152 cm (5 ft.) in height. I've kept my hair cut the same way, in hopes that Italy will still recognize me when I return. Italy… I promised you I'd come back as soon as I could, but it would seem that everyone wants to fight me; and even though I've grown, I feel myself getting weaker as time goes on. Oh Italy, I know you didn't want be to be like the old Roman Empire, but once I've come back as the strongest empire in the world, you'd surely join me then, wouldn't you?

Rarely have I ever gotten the chance to rest, it seems that everywhere I look someone's out to get me. Spain, France, even these guys named Sweden and Denmark are after my land. It's hard enough to keep my empire at peace without the other nations trying to steal my territory from me! But I'll stand strong, even in the face of all who have made me their enemy. Even so, my strength is limited. I can't fight as long as I used to. People in my land are unhappy, and there's too much chaos in my territory for me to stay focused. No! I must remember what I'm fighting for… **who** I'm fighting for. Italy is waiting for me; I'll win for her sake, even if it takes me hundreds of years!

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August 6, 1806

Time goes on, and I keep losing land. My strength is failing me; sometimes it's hard to just keep standing. Even though I'm in a war against France right now, I've had to rest, for I couldn't fight in my condition. I lay in bed, waiting for news from the battlefield. My boss, the Holy Roman Emperor Francis II comes in. His expression was grim, but I still felt anxious to know what happened.

"Did we win?"

"I'm afraid not," he replied to me, "this war is over."

"What—what do you mean?"

"Napoleon defeated us. I signed the treaty. The empire will be dissolved."

"Dissolved?! You can't be serious…"

"There will no longer be a Holy Roman Empire." The shock took a moment to register in my mind.

"No… no, you can't do this! You can't! I have to stay alive!"

"You will still live, but not as the Holy Roman Empire."

"NO! I won't accept this, I promised… I promised her… that'd I return from the war."

"I'm sorry, but the empire has already fallen apart. Let's not prolong this suffering." I was at the verge of tears, what could I do knowing I was about to be wiped from existence? I grabbed his cloak in my fist.

"She's waiting, I have to go back. Please! You have to take this back somehow!"

"What's done is done. You've already lost most of your territory. This is for the best."

As he said those words, I felt my memory fading away. My empire is falling. I struggled to hold on, but the hopelessness of the situation became clear. I looked to the Emperor, but his expression became cold and emotionless. This… this was all my fault wasn't it? I didn't pay enough attention to my house, and now it's crumbling beyond repair. Perhaps I should've listened to Italy; she even told me she loved me the way I was. God, I'm such a fool, and now I'm going to die without being able to say good-bye, to say I'm sorry I didn't keep my promise. I truly loved her more than anyone else in this world. My vision was fading to black… Oh Lord, I wish I could have a second chance to make things right. Another chance to make Italy happy, to protect her and care for her the way I should have. That's all I want now. I'd give up all of my land and gold if I could just have that.

I could feel my strength escaping my body. As fatigue swept over me, I gently lay back in bed. A few tears escaped me as I finally closed my eyes to rest…

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(Regular POV)

June 8, 1815

A young boy woke up from the bed he was resting in. His blue eyes registered the scenery around him. He ran his hand through his short, blond hair as he looked on in confusion.

"Where am I?" he said to no one in particular. "Wait, who am I? I can't remember…" It was at that moment a man walked into the room. He had short, silver hair and had a Prussian blue uniform on.

"Oi, so you finally woke up."

"Who are you?" was all the boy could think to say.

"Hey, what's the matter with you? It's me, the totally awesome Prussia!" The boy glanced downward with a twinge of guilt in his expression.

"I'm sorry; I can't remember anything right now." The older man had a look of concern on his face.

"You don't remember anything huh?"

"Only that I'm a country. Do you know who I am?"

"Yeah, I do. As of right now you are known as the German Confederation." The boy's brows furrowed in deep thought. Somehow the name didn't sound right to him.

"Is that really my name?" Prussia sighed and sat down on the bed.

"Technically, that is your name."

"What do you mean by that?" The boy nation known as the German Confederation had a serious look on his face. Prussia was starting to get annoyed with him.

"Look, you used to have a different name, but that's not who you are anymore. Just forget about it okay?" The boy, although still not satisfied, could not bother to argue this any further.

"Fine." Prussia breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that he wouldn't have to do a German history lesson just to satisfy the boy's curiosity.

"Hey, I bet you're hungry. I'll get you something to eat and later we'll get you some new clothes. You got to look presentable if you're going to be a nation." The boy only nodded in response and followed Prussia out of the room. In his heart, he felt that he had forgotten something very important, but there was nothing he could do if he couldn't remember. He hoped to reclaim the memories he had lost one day, but as for now, he is the German Confederation and nothing more.

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I still don't get how the countries interact with their "bosses", it's kinda weird. This fic is based on my understanding of the history of the Holy Roman Empire, so forgive me if I get something wrong. Also, I think I made Prussia a bit OOC. Oh well, I hope you enjoyed reading it. Review please?


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